Professor Gerry Boyle:

I thank the committee for the invitation to the meeting. I acknowledge the kind remarks of the Senator and I will certainly miss meeting him at our annual Oireachtas briefings. He has attended several of those briefings and we very much appreciate his contributions.

I know the issue of hedgerows is of interest to many members of the committee because I have engaged in discussions with many of them previously. We are, obviously, very much in favour of planting new hedgerows but it is perhaps even more important to manage existing hedgerows to maximise their potential for carbon sequestration. I will ask Dr. O'Mara, who is director of research, to outline the various research and extension programmes in which Teagasc is engaged.